The Witch was not a regular attendant at any house of worship of any
set creed, but preferred ones of lesser grandeur, feeling that she met
with more sincerity within. But one Sabbath morning her steps led to
one of the largest and most fashionable churches in the city. The
ushers were busy seating the well-dressed throng. She slipped along and
took a seat by the side of a sumptuously dressed lady who shifted and
spread her drapery a little more as a hint to the intruder that her
presence was undesirable.
Many haughty glances of derision were shot at the poorly clad stranger
who had presumed to come in their midst. She looked about her on the
throng.
All is vanity. Ecclesiastes i, 2.
Richly attired matrons, conscious only of their extreme style; fair
young girls, not a whit less extravagantly garbed than their elders,
with cramped waists and all the accoutrements belonging to devotees of
fashion.
A pity that such fair flowers like the rose could not remain longer in
bud, for both fall into decay all too quickly after maturity. But Dame
Fashion seems in a hurry and holds to artificial development.
Make not my Father's house a house of merchandise. John ii, 16.
What more was this great display of finery than one way of advertising
goods?
Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me;
the new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot
away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from
before mine eyes; cease to do evil.
Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the
fatherless, plead for the widow.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your
sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow; though they be
red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.
But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured. Isaiah i, 13, 16,
17, 18, 19, 20.
Their land also is full of idols; they worship the works of their
own hands that which their own fingers have made. Isaiah ii, 8.
The daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth
necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a
tinkling with their feet.
In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling
ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires
like the moon.
The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers.
The bonnets, the headbands, and the earrings.
The rings.
The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantels, and the wimples,
and the crisping pins.
The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils.
Isaiah iii, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23.
That women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness
and sobriety; not with broidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or
costly array;
But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. I
Timothy ii, 9, 10.
The eloquent and eminent divine preached a flowery discourse with no
reproof pointing to the vanity and frivolity of the hour.
They are shepherds that cannot understand; they all look to their
own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. Isaiah lvi, 11.
Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard; they have trodden my
portion under foot. Jeremiah xii, 10.
The pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the Lord.
Jeremiah x, 21.
Woe unto you, ye blind guides. Matthew xxiii, 16.
Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching
things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake. Titus i, 11.
Ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at
the law. Malachi ii, 8.
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove,
rebuke, extort with all long suffering and doctrine.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;
but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers
having itching ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be
turned into fables.
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an
evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. II Timothy iv, 2, 3,
4, 5.
The great organ reverberated through the building. The choir sang of
God's love to all creatures alike. Two women sat side by side, and the
one of loftier mien bowed her head, and for the first time in her life
felt the love of God in her heart; and the Witch went out from church
happy, knowing that through her influence one soul was redeemed this
Sabbath morning.